Isle Royale Forums

I had planned to do this as a single post, but it's taking a while to write it up so thought I'd start with the first couple days and update as I can. I hope you enjoy and find it helpful!

Day 0 – Saturday, 8/14
Drove from Detroit Area to Houghton/Hancock. The crew consists of Joe, Brett, Gary & me – all dads in our late 40s getting ready to catapult our youngest kids off to college this fall. Checked into the Ramada-Wyndham Hancock Waterfront hotel around 4:30. Enjoyed a few beverages & appetizers at The Den followed by white fish, lake trout and key lime pie at Joey’s Seafood & Grill. Final pack checks back at the hotel and hit the beds early.

Day 1 – Sunday, 8/15
Windigo to Feldtmann Lake
Up before 6:00am to prep for an 8:00am scheduled seaplane departure. Hotel breakfast was adequate – hot breakfast sandwiches, yogurt, granola and coffee. Seaplane dock is less than 5 minutes away and we arrived by 7:00am.

Pack weigh-in (to be sure we’re under the 45lb/person limit) went something like this with commentary from the nice lady checking us in:
Gary – 32lbs “nice job!”
Joe – 27 lbs “ooh, you’re going to enjoy that!”
Me – 33 lbs “well done!”
Brett – 45 lbs “OH BOY! Do you have any water in there you can dump?”
Our plane took off promptly at 8:00 (we were ready early but they won’t leave before 8:00 on a Sunday to keep the neighbors from complaining). Beautiful flight under clear blue skies gave us great views of the Keweenaw and entry into Washington Harbor. Standard safety and leave-no-trace check-in talk with the ranger with emphasis on NO FIRES and keep your distance from the wildlife (no riding the moose ). Filed our plan and the ranger also informed us that all hikers were being issued backcountry permits due to the expected crowds.

We purchased our fuel canisters from the store and hit the trail to Feldtmann Lake by 10:00am. Temps in the mid-70s with a nice breeze - perfect weather to get us started! Beautiful trail with a great overlook a little over a mile in. It was shortly after the overlook that our issue with thimbleberries began. Specifically, the need to stop every few feet to eat them because they’re delicious and they’re everywhere! This made focusing on the infamously treacherous ‘rocks & roots’ of the Feldtmann Lake trail even more challenging. Occasional stumbles and turned ankles were unavoidable, but we thankfully sustained no injuries.
Arrived at Feldtmann Lake campground by 2:30pm and grabbed site #2 right on the beach. Our first visitor arrived around 3:15 as we were still setting up camp – a bull moose waded into the reeds just down the shoreline. Brett won the $1 pool for first to spot a moose. We soaked our feet in the lake for a bit and then headed to Rainbow Cove for a quick swim. There were 2-3 foot waves crashing in the cove which, coupled with the hot rocks on tender feet, made washing up and filling water bottles a real challenge! We hiked back to camp for dinner and then returned to the cove for a beautiful sunset.
Sleeping was not easy – a combination of warm temps, excitement for the coming challenges, and the constant snorting and breaking of branches by the herd of moose that seemed to be taking up residence in our campsite. The bull we saw earlier was content standing just a few feet offshore, clearly visible from Brett’s tent closest to the lake (and not making any effort to be quiet). Gary was setup closest to the trees and swore the moose were stumbling over his tent stakes. Definitely not complaining, though – at least we knew we wouldn’t go home disappointed by lack of moose sightings! No threat of rain so I left the rain fly off and happened to spot a few meteors streaking across the sky around 3:00am.

Distance: 8.8 miles (9.00 miles With Pack On per GPS w/ 552’ elevation gain)
Time: 10:00 – 14:30 (4.5 hours)

Day 2 - Monday, 8/16
Feldtmann Lake to Siskiwit Bay
After barely sleeping, I was up at 6:15 and plopped my chair on the lakeshore to watch the sunrise. I was soon joined by a moose cow & calf eating breakfast about 75 yards up the shoreline. They were both slowly working their way toward me until the calf decided it would be fun to trot down the beach and watch all of us scatter to avoid coming between it and it’s mother. The pair of moose veered through the campsites and popped out the other side to continue strolling along the beach.

After breakfast and coffee, we began packing up when the bull moose we’d seen the day before wandered down to the lake for a swim. He entertained us for half an hour diving completely underwater to graze.
We hit the trail a little after 9am heading for Siskiwit Bay. The first boardwalk not far down the trail had one section completely collapsed, but fortunately the ground below was dry and firm so we just walked around it. This quickly became a theme – with so little rain (the ranger told us less than 1” in the last 45 days) we found nearly all the boardwalks throughout the trip crossing dry creek-beds and swamps.

The first half of the Feldtmann Ridge trail is beautiful – one of my favorite stretches. A few steep assents to start, but you’re rewarded with several great views back across Feldtmann Lake. Much smoother trail (fewer roots & rocks) than the hike from Windigo. We stopped for lunch at the lookout tower and really enjoyed the 360 view from the stairway (access to the top is locked).
The second half of the ridge trail is a different story – possibly my least favorite stretch of the entire trip. I enjoyed hiking on the exposed ridge just past the tower, but the last 3-1/2 miles is a straight shot through overgrown brush with no pleasant views and absolutely no breeze. With temps in the mid-80s and no cloud cover, we were soaked with sweat as we slogged through the last hour and a half. We also noted several large wasp nests near the trail along this stretch and one of the groups that arrived after us reported several people were stung.

At Siskiwit Bay we found both shelters already claimed so we grabbed campsite #2. None of the individual sites have much of a view, but #2 gave us the most space for our 4 single tents. We grabbed our chairs and headed straight for the lake to soak our tired feet. We spent a couple hours at the lake swimming and soaking up some sun before heading back to setup camp and cook dinner.
After dinner, Brett & Gary spent the evening fishing off the break-wall while Joe and I chatted with other hikers on the pier. We got out the cards and played some Euchre before heading off to sleep shortly after sunset. Camp was much quieter tonight, but something woke me up at 1:30 so I threw on a jacket and headed down to the pier to get a clear look at the stars. Crystal clear night sky and the moon had set, but the horizon was brightly lit by the green glow of the northern lights! Not ideal for stargazing, but still a pleasant surprise.

Distance: 10.3 miles (11.2 miles WPO per GPS w/ 834’ elevation gain – not sure why the discrepancy to posted mileage)
Time: 9:20 – 14:40 (5.33 hours)

Your thimbleberry problem sounds like a good problem to have. And I'm with you on the last few miles into Siskiwit Bay from the fire tower -- I think that's the hardest stretch of trail on the island!

Looking forward to further installments. With meteors on night one and the aurora on night two, there's no telling what nights 3 and beyond will bring!

I had a moose stand over my tent and eat for over an hour one night at Feldtmann. There was a hoof print 1' from my tent. So I believe Gary!

Day 3 – Tuesday, 8/17
Siskiwit Bay to Lake Desor S
No moose sightings this morning, so we were packed up and moving before 9:00 today. We hiked along the beach until we hit the trail sign that directs you to the bridge over the Siskiwit River (less than 1 mile from the pier). Noticed wolf tracks in the sand following several sets of moose tracks.
Sunrise on Siskiwit Bay

North of the river crossing, we bounced back and forth between the beach and the trail running parallel to it. The trail was badly overgrown in many places, but we preferred that (when we could find it) to the loose footing on the beach. As we reached the NW corner of the bay at Senter Point, it took us a minute to spot the opening of the trail that cuts northeast to reach Carnelian Beach. Once on the trail, it was easy to follow.

Before leaving Carnelian Beach on the Island Mine Trail, we stopped to top off our water bottles with more of Lake Superior’s finest. We had read reports of Lake Desor water tasting a bit funky so we all carried 3 liters for this stretch just to be safe. The hike from here to Island Mine was interrupted frequently to snack on thimbleberries. This stretch includes some of the longest sustained inclines of our trip – thankfully mostly in the shade, but we were still soaked in sweat by the time we reached the Greenstone Ridge intersection. Temps reportedly in the mid-80s inland today.
We stopped for a snack at the intersection and chatted with several other groups coming up both from Island Mine and Windigo. Clearly more traffic along the GR than we had seen on the Feldtmann loop. The trail heading east from here was like an expressway compared to our first 2-1/2 days – wide and smooth, but we were frequently leapfrogging and passing other hikers throughout the rest of the morning. We paused for lunch near a large rock outcropping just past Mount Desor.
The remaining hike was a pleasant walk in the woods with an occasional stretch of bare rock. We cruised into Lake Desor S campground just after 2:00 expecting to have our pick of campsites. Unfortuntely, all were claimed. Fortunately, a couple ladies we had met along the trail offered to share site #3 with us. It turns out that one of them is a wildlife biologist studying the wolf reintroduction to IR. She had been on the island since May and would stay through September. The other worked for the NPS and started her summer as a human fire alarm in the Rock Harbor dorms. Once the smoke detectors were repaired, she was assigned to support the biologist’s work.

We headed down to the lake for a swim and to sample the Lake Desor water. Not as clean tasting as what we were used to from Lake Superior, but none of us thought it tasted bad. The water is definitely warmer than Lake Superior, but still refreshing. Spotted a few leaches in the water but none attacked us. From site #3, there’s a trail straight down to the lake – rather steep, but convenient to have direct access. After cooling down in the lake, we took a little longer to setup camp as it was more crowded than usual, but we managed to squeeze all 6 one-person tents on the site. After dinner, we spent the evening playing Euchre in camp (even taught the ladies how to play – hopefully a useful skill with another month left on the island for them) and climbed back down to the shore to watch the sunset.

Distance: 9.9 miles (11.4 miles WPO per GPS w/ 1433’ elevation gain – included extra hiking around to find a campsite, but still not sure why consistently more than posted mileage)
Time: 8:50 – 14:10 (5.33 hours)

Day 4 – Wednesday, 8/18
Lake Desor S to Todd Harbor
Long day ahead of us and not much to do in camp, so we ate breakfast, packed up quickly and hit the trail by 8:30. The ladies had already cleared out half an hour earlier. To be honest, our first experience with the crowds at Desor had us concerned we’d be fighting for a campsite at every stop from here to Rock Harbor (which turned out to be accurate).

We made good time heading back up onto the ridge and passed the ladies taking a break under the Ishpeming Point watch tower. This ~8 mile stretch of the Greenstone Ridge from Desor to Hatchet is a great mix of shaded forest trail, exposed grassy clearings and rugged rock outcroppings. We had a few nice views of Siskiwit Lake from the ridge, but the morning was otherwise unremarkable – just a really nice hike! The temperature climbed quickly into the mid-80s which felt like the 90s when we weren’t in the shade.
Siskiwit Lake from GR

We passed a group of Scouts at the Hatchet Lake junction who had just climbed back up to the Greenstone to continue their march eastward. They looked absolutely gassed already at 11:30am and they had only covered a few tenths of a mile. We quickly saw why after veering left to head down the trail to Hatchet! That north face of the ridge is brutally steep. We made a mental note to NEVER include a hike back out of Hatchet to the south on future trips – what a rough way to start the day!

We took a quick break at the entrance to the Hatchet Lake campground but agreed to keep it short. Unfortunately, after seeing how crowded it was at S Desor, we were anxious to get to Todd Harbor and secure campsite early. I really wish that wasn’t a factor, but we felt rushed the rest of the trip by concerns of overcrowding.

I expected the trail from Hatchet to the Minong Ridge to be a series of swamps and beaver dam ponds that would make keeping my feet dry impossible. We passed several impressive dams, but the water was low and all the small creeks were completely dry. No wet feet today! As others have reported, there’s now one dam that’s just part of the trail shortly before the Minong Ridge junction. The trail was recently rerouted to go over the dam so watch for the red tape tied to the trees.
Native trail crew creates a nice path for hikers

We kept up an aggressive pace and didn’t take a full stop for lunch. We blasted into Todd Harbor campground by 1:30 expecting to beat the crowds, but were again disappointed to find every site close to the water already occupied. Several were obviously people who had already been there one night and were sticking around for another – and I certainly can’t blame them! What a beautiful site!

The only open site was #6 which is set way back from the trail on the way out to McCargoe. Good size site with 3 separate pads for tents set among pine trees (and thimbleberries!). We planned to occupy only 2 of the pads in case anyone else came along in need of a campsite. Since we had skipped lunch on the trail, we quickly ate, grabbed our chairs and headed down to the lake to soak our feet. The water at Todd Harbor was glorious! Much warmer than we expected for Lake Superior, but still refreshing. We swam and sat on the beach for several hours before heading back to setup camp and make dinner.

Entertainment for the evening was provided by a small squirrel we named “Ricky-Bobby” who alternated between throwing pine cones at us from the tops of the pine trees and racing around our feet to pick them up and jet off to his stash. We spent the evening playing Euchre down on the beach while watching the sunset – can definitely understand why this is such a popular campsite!
Sunset over Todd Harbor

A group of 5 guys rolled in fairly late in the evening to find all the sites full. They setup their tents in small clearings between the beach and the trail to the group campsites. I’m pretty sure that’s not compliant with the rules for backcountry campsite, but they were clearly not the first ones to pitch tents in those spots and it didn’t really cause anyone much grief. Probably the best spots in the campground!

Distance: 11.8 miles (12.3 miles WPO per GPS w/ 1309’ elevation gain – includes some distance in camp trying to find an open site, much closer to posted distance)
Time: 8:30 – 13:30 (5.0 hours)

Day 5 – Thursday, 8/19
Todd Harbor to McCargoe Cove
We were packed up and on the trail early today. Really looking forward to a short day and hoping to snag a shelter at McCargoe Cove. Love this section of trail! I was intimidated by the idea of hiking Minong, but feedback from this forum was that this stretch is really Minong-lite (confirmed!). Very few level sections of trail – constantly going up or down, but no long, sustained climbs. Great variety of terrain with occasional high points offering great views of Otter Lake, Beaver Lake and Lake Superior.

Otter Lake & Beaver Lake from Minong Trail


There’s a small pond on the south side of the trail about 2.5-3 miles from Todd Harbor. It looked like a prime moose hangout and, sure enough, we spotted a cow and a calf wading through eating breakfast.


We strolled into McCargoe Cove before 11am and found several shelters unoccupied. Claimed #4 as it had the best view of the cove. Temps were already climbing into the 80s again so we dropped our packs, changed into swim trunks and headed for the lake. Jumping off the end of the dock into the cool water was possibly the most refreshing experience of the week. Similar to Todd Harbor, the water here was much warmer than we thought possible in Lake Superior. The shoreline is rocky so water shoes or flip-flops are very helpful.

We had planned our route with the option for a zero-day at some point with the most likely choice being here at McCargoe. After arriving early and spending the entire afternoon swimming, relaxing on the dock, hiking back to explore the mines, chatting with other hikers, playing cribbage, fishing and even a short nap, we were all feeling fully refreshed and rested by dinner time. As beautiful as it is at McCargoe Cove, 5 days of freeze-dried dinners had us craving a burger and a beer in Rock Harbor ASAP so we decided to press on the next day.

We closed out the evening down by the dock discussing our routes and trip highlights with a few other groups. No campfire due to fire restrictions. Around 9:00 a very healthy-looking fox strolled through camp like he owned the place. He darted off toward our shelter and we followed to be sure he didn’t steal our shoes.

Distance: 6.7 miles (6.4 miles WPO per GPS w/ 523’ elevation gain) plus 2.5 miles round trip to the Minong Mine w/o packs
Time: 8:20 – 10:50 (2.5 hours)

Day 6 – Friday, 8/20
McCargoe Cove to ???
Worst night’s sleep all week. Four dudes on air mattresses make a lot of noise that just reverberates off the bare walls of the shelter. I was up early and headed down to the dock to enjoy the sunrise. A bull moose came down to the shoreline and decided he’d rather be on the other side of the cove. Awesome to watch him swim the 200+ yards across the cove as 2 swans paddled by under an orange-grey morning sky.
Moose and swans at sunrise on McCargoe Cove

We were on the trail by 8:30 with 3 possible destinations today:
1) 3-Mile – original plan, 12.6 miles away, but concerned it might be packed on a Friday night with hikers ready to catch the Ranger out of RH the next day.
2) Lane Cove – 13 miles away, hopefully less crowded than 3-Mile. We’d talked with a few other hikers on the trail who said it was beautiful and secluded.
3) Daisy Farm – 8.1 miles away, basically splits our remaining distance to RH into 2 equal hikes. Miss out on Mt. Franklin. Only take this route if feeling tired.

The trail heading SW from McCargoe Cove is another beautiful stretch of terrain. We made a hard left to head over the creek connecting Chickenbone Lake to the cove and headed up our first steep ascent of the day. We actually crossed a few boardwalks with water or mud below as we skirted the east end of Chickenbone Lake. I’m guessing this entire section would be a mucky mess in normal conditions, but we had no issues keeping our feet dry.

We scaled the north face of the Greenstone Ridge to reach the trail junction by around 9:30. Tough climb, but didn’t seem as bad as what we walked down heading toward Hatchet Lake on Day 4. Hellishly hot once again on the ridge today. 8 miles to Mt. Ojibway and we were quickly drenched in sweat yet again. This seemed like a much tougher stretch on the GR trail than our hikes between Island Mine and Hatchet, but we were feeling strong and skipped the first exit to Daisy Farm. We reached the Mt. Ojibway watch tower at the perfect time - great break for lunch in the shade of the tower (not much shade anywhere else) with incredible views of the East end of the island.

Last opportunity to cut this day short and head toward DF. A nice breeze kept up all through lunch so we felt refreshed and decided to press on toward Lane Cove or 3-mile. Heading east from the tower, we struggled a little to find the trail on the bare rock and had to circle back a bit. 3 more miles completely exposed to the sun before we hit Mt. Franklin. We definitely needed all 3 liters of water we packed today.

As if we needed more evidence of the lack of rainfall, the foliage on the ridge was already starting to turn bright shades of red and orange. Fall arrived early. The tall grass along the trail was crispy and brown. The bow wave of grasshoppers we stirred up as we walked clicked and popped as if electrically charged.
Early Autumn colors on GR east of Mt. Ojibway

Another great view from the top of Mt. Franklin. Our legs were a bit rubbery after 10+ miles in the heat, but decided to make the left heading to Lane Cove. We quickly questioned the wisdom of that decision. Extremely steep downhill with loose footing getting off the ridge. Tough, technical trail with lots of roots and rocks. Hardest 2.3 miles of the trip. Legs were tired already and there are many small ridges to climb. To top it off, the last half mile of trail was nothing but jagged exposed edges of boulders half buried in the dirt. We dubbed it the rock garden.

Finally made it to Lane Cove around 3:00 and found 3 of 5 campsites already occupied. We grabbed site #1 and immediately setup our chairs in the water to soak our tired feet. The cove by our site was very shallow – we could wade out 50 yards on the sandy bottom and the water was barely up to our chest. The water was almost too warm after 5 straight days of nearly uninterrupted sunshine.

We swam and relaxed in the cove until dinner time. The last open campsite filled up and we overheard hikers doubling up in site #2. We definitely enjoyed the peace and quiet of this remote site in the evening, but were surprised to see even this remote site on a dead-end trail completely packed.

Late in the evening a group of 3 rolled in looking for a place to camp. They had just arrived on the Ranger and it had taken them a long time to get up and over the ridge from RH. We offered them the option of setting up their tents in a couple small clearings along the shoreline adjacent to our site. That turned out to be their only option for the night. We chatted with them as the sun set and they enjoyed their dinner of Roy’s pasties – we were a little jealous and definitely looking forward to lunch tomorrow at the lodge.

Distance: 13 miles (13.6 miles WPO per GPS w/ 1742’ elevation gain)
Time: 8:30 – 15:00 (6.5 hours)

Day 7 – Saturday, 8/21
Lane Cove to Rock Harbor
There was a slight threat of rain overnight so we actually had the rain flies on the tents. Thankfully, we woke to a dry but cloudy morning. We rolled out by 8:30 determined to survive the rock garden without any turned ankles and then steadily trudge back up the face of the ridge. On fresh legs, the hike up and out was not nearly as bad as expected. We made it back to the GR trail junction in just under an hour.

We crossed over the ridge and headed directly down the trail toward 3-mile. Great stretch of trail to recover after climbing the north face of the ridge. Gentle downward slope that’s mostly in the shade. We took our time and enjoyed our last day on the trail. The turn for the Tobin Harbor trail came up quickly. We had pre-determined we’d follow this route rather than take on the Rock Harbor trail’s more rugged terrain. We were rewarded with some of the best thimbleberry patches we’d seen since leaving the Island Mine trail and some really nice views of Tobin Harbor.

We arrived in Rock Harbor by 11:30 and headed straight for the individual campsites. Noted along the way that all the shelters were already occupied and several had already been claimed for when the current occupants departed on the IR Queen later that afternoon. The campsites were mostly vacant so we claimed #15, dropped our packs and headed back for lunch.

Burger and beers at the Greenstone Grill were a fitting reward for what we had accomplished over the past week. I honestly couldn’t think of a better way to end the trip and I’m glad we decided to go west to east. Keweenaw Brewing Co. on tap was a real treat! After relaxing and rehydrating on the deck for a while, we headed back to grab our toiletries and hit the showers. Also bought a clean souvenir t-shirt along with our shower tokens – great pro-tip I picked up from another TR on this forum.

The wind really started to kick up throughout the afternoon. Weather report at the ranger station indicated it would hit 30 knots. The deck behind the Guest House was somewhat sheltered so we relaxed there and chatted with several other hikers we had met along the trail. We had put our names on the waiting list at the lodge in case any rooms became available and found out at 5:00 that we’d get to spend our last night in one of the cabins thanks to a no-show. We grabbed our gear and headed for the cabins.

After pizza and salad at the grill (Lighthouse Restaurant was closed), we headed back to the cabin and noticed the smoke beginning to billow above the ridge to the north. The steady winds had stoked the Horne fire and we could even see from the seaplane dock occasional bursts of flame above the ridge. The ranger we spoke with indicated that they’d monitor the fire throughout the night but did not expect it to threaten RH based on the wind direction.
Smoke from Horne fire north of Tobin Harbor

We were all more than ready for a good night’s sleep in an actual bed. The cabins are adequate size for 4 people, but there’s not much ventilation – only 2 small windows on the one end open. It was a bit warm in the cabin but we still enjoyed being off the ground.
Sunset over Tobin Harbor

Distance: 6.9 miles (7.5 miles WPO per GPS w/ 839’ elevation gain)
Time: 8:30 – 11:40 (3.2 hours)

Day 8 – Sunday, 8/22

Our seaplane departure was scheduled for 11:00am. Winds had calmed down and shifted overnight to be out of the north. Smoke from the Horne fire was rolling down the ridge, across Tobin Harbor and into RH. We had hoped to hike out to Scoville Point after breakfast, but they had closed the trail due to the expansion of the fire.

We packed up and headed down to the seaplane dock at 10:45. Several other groups were already waiting for their flights and we all crossed our fingers that the smoke wouldn’t interfere with our departure. The first plane came in just before 11:00 and took the first 2 groups. Ours was just a few minutes behind. We were loaded up and in the air by 11:25. Beautiful, clear blue skies and we had a great view of the wildfire smoke blanketing the east end of the island (pictures posted in an earlier thread). From the air, the scale of the fire did not appear that significant.
Seaplane gliding through the smoke on Tobin Harbor

Smooth flight back and we glided over the Houghton-Hancock bridge right at high noon. After unloading, we thought it would be interesting to get a post-hike weight of Brett’s pack which started at 45lbs without water. Somehow it came in at 40lbs even after he’d consumed 7 days worth of food! Still no idea how that’s possible. Mine was down to around 25lbs as expected.

We piled our gear into my car and started the 9 hour drive home. Should’ve grabbed lunch before we left – discovered too late that most restaurants along the way were closed on Sunday. Finally found an open taco truck in Marquette. Also had to make a stop at Gustafson’s along Route 2 for some of their world-famous popcorn. Otherwise uneventful trip and we all made it home by around 10:30pm – exhausted but not nearly as foul-smelling as our wives had predicted before the trip!

Total Distance: 67.4 miles per published tables (71.4 miles with packs on per GPS w/ 7,232’ elevation gain)
Total Time on trail: 32.4 hours (including all trail breaks)
Average pace: 2.1 mph

If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I hope many will find this information useful and maybe even a little entertaining.

This was a trip of a lifetime for all of us. Honestly, other than the heat, we can’t imagine how it could have been any better. I’ll probably do one more post here with further thoughts and comments on the overall trip. Please feel free to comment or ask questions.

In retrospect

The Route
Loved it and wouldn’t change a thing. Great variety of terrain and I feel like we hit many of the very best campsites on the island. We all agreed Feldtmann Lake was our favorite, but Siskiwit Bay, Todd Harbor, McCargoe Cove and Lane Cove were all very close seconds. Very happy that we did the Feldtmann loop – less crowded than anywhere else and we had our best wildlife encounters on that leg.

Averaging 10 miles per day was challenging (particularly with the unusually warm temps) but we were physically prepared for it. We likely would have slowed the pace a bit if not for the concern of getting a campsite. I still felt like we were able to stop whenever we felt like just enjoying the view or grabbing a handful of thimbleberries.

I really appreciate the suggestion from this forum to add the option for a zero day. The route we planned gave us multiple options along the way to reduce the distance if we were struggling. We also could have stayed an extra day in Todd Harbor or McCargoe Cove and still made our seaplane departure on time (although we would’ve missed out on the refreshments in RH). Didn’t end up exercising either option, but it was nice to have them.

The Gear
Overall, I was extremely pleased with my gear selection. I had surprisingly few things in my pack that I didn’t use. Anything in that category would still make the cut because I’d never hike without it (rain gear, trowel, base layer, and spare water bladder were the only things I never needed).

A few optional items that added weight but were absolutely worth it:
Chair – REI Flexlite Air (1 lb) – I’ll never hike without one. Great to have back support when relaxing in camp. Also allowed us to sit and soak our feet each day.
DSLR camera – Nikon D7200 w/ 18-140mm lens (3 lb) – Cell phone cameras have come a long way, but still no comparison to the capability of a dedicated camera.
Daypack – Osprey Ultralight Stuff Pack (0.2 lb) – Useful for side trips to carry water and snacks, or just for hauling water bottles and filters down to the lake.

I invested a fair amount of money into my core gear to get the combined weight for pack, tent and sleep system down below 9lbs. This doesn’t get me anywhere close to the ultralight category, but gave me flexibility to pack everything I needed to be comfortable and still keep the total under 20% of my body weight.

Finally, I’m a true convert from hiking boots to trail-runners. I started training in trail-runners (Altra Lone Peak 4.5s) at the beginning of the summer and noticed the difference immediately. So much lighter and more breathable. I was concerned that the rocky terrain of IR would read through the flexible soles or that I’d turn an ankle without the support of boots. My experience on IR was just the opposite. My feet felt better than they ever have on previous hikes and I found my footing to be more stable with the wide, flat trail-runners. I know this topic has been hotly debated and I wouldn’t recommend someone switch without adequately training in advance, but I’d only go back to boots if hiking in the winter.

Water
Given the dry conditions and the heat, we needed to be able to carry 2-3 liters on the trail every day. Thankfully we weren’t impacted by the algae blooms, but this certainly could complicate planning routes in the future if it continues. Sticking to the sites on Lake Superior may be the best option. I used a Katadyn BeFree 1-liter filter bottle and Joe had a Sawyer Squeeze. Both worked flawlessly all week. Our other 2 compadres bought Survivor Filters off of Amazon and they clogged almost immediately. Those weren’t cheap and get 4.5 star user ratings, but were useless after the first couple days. Lesson: When it comes to something as critical as water, trust the backpacking forums over Amazon shoppers!

Crowds
I was surprised and a bit disappointed by the overcrowding at many campsites. I realize this was a record setting year for visitors and we were there at the peak. On one hand, I’m happy to see so many people getting out to explore and enjoy our incredible parks. We enjoyed meeting so many hikers from all over the country and the crowded camping conditions made it almost impossible NOT to be social. On the other hand, the concern over getting a campsite definitely influenced our pace on the trail. We felt rushed at times and worried every time someone passed us while we were taking a break that they would grab the last campsite. I don’t know the right answer here, but I think the NPS needs to consider options to either expand campsite capacity or limit visitor numbers during peak season. It seems like expanding capacity would have less environmental impact in the long run than forcing more and more people into the backcountry during peaks. Hopefully they’re already taking a serious look at options!

"The bow wave of grasshoppers we stirred up as we walked clicked and popped as if electrically charged."

That's some nice writing.

very awesome report, and after action review! I'm glad you made it to Lane Cove.